bower

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>bower</strong> &#149; \BOW-er\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Bower</em> is a literary word that usually refers to a garden shelter made with tree boughs or vines twined together.</p> <p>// Resting in the shade of the <em>bower</em> was the perfect way to cool off during the hot summer afternoon.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bower">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Today, a café occupies part of the ground floor, its tables and chairs distributed under a leafy <em>bower</em> on the veranda.” — Samanth Subramanian, <em>The New York Times</em>, 9 June 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>If you visited someone’s bower a millennium ago, you’d likely have found yourself at an attractive rustic cottage. A few centuries later, a visit to a bower could have involved a peek into a lady’s personal hideaway within a medieval castle or hall—that is, her private apartment. Both meanings hark back to the word’s ancient roots: it comes from Old English <em>būr</em>, meaning “dwelling.” Today, <em>bower</em> is more familiar as a word for a garden shelter made with tree boughs or vines twined together, a meaning that overlaps with that of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arbor"><em>arbor</em></a>. (The adjective <em>bowery</em>, meaning “like a bower” or “full of bowers” is used to describe areas that resemble or are filled with these leafy pergola-like structures). <em>Bower</em> also features in the name of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bowerbird">bowerbirds</a>, any of approximately 20 different <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/bowerbird">bird species</a> native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, the males of which build more-or-less elaborate st